Photo : YONHAP News
Anchor: The leaders of South Korea and Japan held talks in Japan’s Nara Prefecture on Tuesday and exchanged views on regional and global issues. Lee called for cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo as well as among Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing to achieve peace and stability in the region amid the rapidly changing international situation.
Kim Bum-soo has more.
Report: In a meeting that took place amid heightened tensions between Japan and China, the South Korean president called for communication among the three East Asian neighbors.
After their summit on Tuesday in Japan, President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi summarized their discussions at a joint news conference.
[Sound bite: President Lee Jae Myung (Korean-English)]
“I also emphasized the need for the three Northeast Asian countries — South Korea, China and Japan — to find as much common ground as possible and communicate and cooperate with each other. The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace, and agreed to continue close cooperation on North Korea policy.”
Takaichi underlined the significance of strategic trilateral ties with the U.S.
[Sound bite: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (Japanese-English)]
“This year, under the leadership of the president and myself, we will significantly advance bilateral relations between our two countries and also vigorously promote trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the United States. … Regarding responses to North Korea, including the issue of nuclear missiles, we reaffirmed that we will respond through close cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the United States to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea.”
Tuesday’s meeting was the second summit between Lee and Takaichi, the first having taken place on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum in South Korea in late October.
With Lee reciprocating Takaichi’s visit to South Korea, the two leaders reaffirmed that bilateral shuttle diplomacy is on track.
In a symbolic move to overcome thorny bilateral issues related to Japan’s 35-year-long colonial occupation of Korea, the two leaders agreed at the meeting to launch working-level cooperation to identify the recently discovered remains of the victims of the 1942 Josei coal mine disaster, which killed 136 Koreans forced to work in the mine.
The two countries celebrated the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties last year, and Lee said the summit holds special meaning as the two sides look forward to the next 60 years.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.